It's been a while since spring has sprung- magnolia blossoms are gone, cherry and plum blossoms are gone, the bridal-wreath spirea growing on our terrace is in full white bloom, and lavender just started popping out little green heads that will soon turn pale lavender colour- a sign that summer is just over a month away. And I decided to write a post about our wintery visit to the Italian Dolomites. The main reason I am doing this now (and not two months ago) is that I'm legging behind with my posts, but also, last month's weather was kind of crazy here in Croatia. In the middle of April, the temperatures dropped drastically with strong wings on the coast and even snow in some parts of the country. A reminder that spring is still spring- a beautiful, unpredictable season of sunny days, flowers and bright green nature, but also of chilly evenings, rain, and occasional snow. Not just a short step between winter and summer, that seemed to be happening the last few years. So.

Back to our wintery escape in Dolomites. I love mountains- just a few days spent on the sharp mountain air surrounded by snowy peaks clear my mind and recharge my body. I also love skiing, spending the entire day in the open, rushing down the slopes, being phisically active, drinking hot chocolate in the mountain huts, all of it. So each year, we try to choose a nice area, that is not owerflown with skiers or overbuilt with hotel chains. This year, we also wanted to go somewhere relatively close to us, so we ended up in ski area San Pellegrino / Alpe Lusia in Italian Veneto region (yes, apart from Venice, Verona, Padova, Vicenza and other beautiful towns, there is also skiing in Veneto).

For the first time in years, we stayed at a hotel where we had breakfast in the morning and dinner waiting for us after a long skiing day, and I have to admit it was one of the best skiing holidays (in the true sense of the word). The area itself is beautiful, Italian Dolomites being somewhat rougher than Austrian Alps- lay your eyes on those sharp rocky peaks and you instantly know you're in the Dolomites. What I loved most about San Pellegrino and Alpe Lusia ski area were wide, well kept slopes with not as many skiers as one would expect, and breathtaking vistas all around. Soaking in the scenery was one part of the beauty, rushing down the perfectly laid slopes the other. Even the food and the architecture of the huts were few steps ahead of most Alpine huts I've been to. Savoring a local dish with a beautifully framed mountain view? Yes, please! So we spent five days of sun (and trust me, we had our fair share of snowy storms and dense fog in our skiing history), wind biting us on the ckeeks, real skiing fun, hot chocolate with cream, magenta colored sunsets, some good Italian wine (extra points for that!), and the feeling of exhaustion that is good for you, exhaustion of being out in the open all day, something that has become a luxury in this frenzy world.

I feel like we found our spot, a place to return to.

*This article was made possible thanks to Ski Area San Pellegrino and Ski Area Alpe Lusia. We had an amazing time and we're truly hoping to be back.